Why read Rails Across Panama?

Book cover of Rails Across Panama: The Story of the Building of the Panama Railroad, 1849-1855

Book description

This is the story of the Building of the Panama Railroad between 1849 and 1855. This railroad was built fifty years before the Panama Canal and carried half a billion dollars of gold, and much U.S. mail without a single loss. This, despite bandits and the loss of thousands of…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Rails Across Panama as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Andrew R. Thomas

Author

While dozens of books have focused on the building of the Canal, woefully few have looked at the construction of the Panama Railroad.

In many ways, the completion of the Panama Railroad was an even greater accomplishment than the building of the Canal. And, simply stated, had there been no Railroad, there would have never been a Canal.

Unlike the U.S. government-funded Canal, the Railroad was a private venture that nearly went bankrupt. The story of the “Yankee Strip, as it was called, is one of great daring, monumental struggles, hard work, and some good old-fashioned luck.

From Andrew's list on The best books about the history of the Panama Canal and the Panama Railroad.